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The BookViral Review:
A wonderfully rich, dark and emotionally engaging Fantasy novel with the flavour and appeal of the genre’s best it’s rare that a novel leaves you glued to your seat, wanting to read it again, but The Shade Of Highfall is certainly one of them with O’Dell delivering an exquisitely crafted narrative.
There’s a theory in publishing these days that fantasy readers have shorter attention spans and must be distracted by nonstop shocks or action but reads like these often prove thin and shallow. O’Dell certainly doesn’t skimp on the shocks or action. It’s clearly one of his fortes. Every action scene contributes, and The Shade Of Highfall rapidly builds momentum as it marches from page to page with vivid action snapshots. But with it, O’Dell does a more interesting thing and captures the souls of his characters.
The main story takes place in a massive city called Highfall. It’s huge and far below, in all its former glory stands the ancient fey city of Qinestra though it’s been many thousands of years since the long-gone fey people walked its streets. It’s reached through a vast subterranean network of tunnels called the Everdark with no human exploring its extent beyond the boundaries of the city above. Before Shrew!
This is Shrew’s story and O’Dell’s narrative is faultless but The Shade Of Highfall is not just about narrative it’s about style too with O’Dell exploring Shrew’s life as we follow her journey from street urchin to joining the Order Of Silent Knives.
There are a few tropes in The Shade Of Highfall but O’Dell doesn’t exploit them to the point where readers will find themselves reminded of other stories. He has created something original which is not only reflected in beautifully articulated settings but the characters that inhabit them. There are genuinely moving moments as the mystery of Shrew’s origins unfold and readers demanding the best in Fantasy action and adventure won’t be disappointed!
An exceptional read and a fine debut for O’Dell The Shade Of Highfall – The Tale Of Shrew is a must-read for fans of the Heroic Fantasy genre and is recommended without reservation!
A bitter, bloody tour de force Chernov unflinchingly explores the random horror, grisly spectacle and the ugliness of war and ideology with a narrative that has an intoxicating, classic feel about it and instantly submerges its readers in the period.
Punchy, fast-paced and well-written, with an air of authenticity, Watters clearly knows his stuff, embedding technically plausible detail whilst creating an authentic world in which to place his characters.
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We said it so often it seems like we are on continuous replay but we make no apology for saying it again. The days when an author could simply write for a living are over.
Whilst the issues of prejudice and discrimination are multi-faceted and complicated beyond belief, a key moment for me was the day I picked up ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Harper Lee implicitly drilled down the relative unfairness of human existence into my 12-year-old brain, creating a sense of outrage that has stayed with me throughout my life.
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